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Fundamentalism is identified by its use of the language of pathology:

skado 9 Nov 1
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Uhhhh all integrity out the window. Where a Motörhead tee shirt. It would mean more!

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They have always perturbed me

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I've felt the danger of fundamentalism a long time. I knew that parents who teach their young kids to be suspicious of different kinds of people were teaching a dehumanizing form of judgment against those different people. Once dehumanized, it's easy to condone violence against them, because fundamentalists feel they must be bad people who deserve to be hurt.

@Allamanda
My spidey sense is telling me Mr. Dawkins may not be from the USA, and that he may not be the “only” one who isn’t. 😉

It’s true each country has its unique personality. Makes me wonder what atheism will be like when it hits countries that have high populations of fundamentalist Muslims.

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Explanation of fundamentalism:

skado Level 9 Nov 1, 2019

That is a thought-provoking video.

The idea seems to be that fundamentalism grows out of literalism, and can lead to harsh judgements against those with other beliefs. Yet the Bible says to judge not that ye be not judged. If we are an obedient literalist then we should be liberal toward all. And many of Christ’s teachings strongly demand love toward all people.

I am a little uneasy about that portrayal of fundamentalism. If you read about the history of the fundamentalist movement you get a different picture. I remember that the Baptists used to strongly identify with the fundamentalist movement, yet they have adopted some very liberal resolutions.

Personally, I think that literalism is plain dumb and that fundamentalism grew out of a desire to have an authoritative guide for what to believe and how to act. Maybe some people need that authority in order to feel secure.

As I watched the video, it occurred to me that the same ideas could be extended to politics. There are those who have a fundamentalist belief in the correctness of their political beliefs and who are willing to demonize and even kill those who disagree.

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